Hi,
*You MAY find this useful enough to copy:
1) It's a SMALL difference in price to get 2GB so yes, get it.
2) Far Cry 3 is the MOST demanding game at the moment. You are not going to get anywhere near high with that graphics card.
3) OTHER GAMES can be run on their highest settings.
4) "Future Proof" is a relative meaning. In the case of video card memory (VRAM) it's confusing. Yes, we're using more VRAM than we have in the past, on the other hard the main video processor (the GPU) still has to be fast enough to process that information.
5) TWEAKING - Do NOT make the common mistake of cranking up the visuals then getting severe stuttering. Run FRAPS to monitor. There are several choices though:
a) VSYNC to 60FPS ( to avoid tearing; benchmark to get about 65 to 70FPS on average without VSYNC then turn VSYNC on.)
b) VSYNC at 30FPS (similar to above. In NVidia this is a "Half Vsync method"; I'm not sure about AMD. If the new CCC can't then RadeonPro can.)
c) VSYNC OFF and run at about 40FPS (40FPS is considered the MINIMUM by many for fast gaming like shooters. However, you can also get severe SCREEN TEARING.)
*There are several graphics options that can be very demanding. For example, 8xAA (anti-aliasing) is far more demanding than 4xAA. There's an optimal BALANCE for the best quality in a game at the goal frame rate (i.e. 40FPS). However, in the case of some games (i.e. Bioshock) your system can simply crank up to the maximum at 60FPS VSYNC'd.
6) RadeonPro: A very useful, free tool that I mainly used to:
a) VSYNC (in games that didn't support it such as Witcher Enhanced)
b) AA (Anti-Aliasing in games that didn't support it such as Mass Effect 1. In that case I recommend SUPERSAMPLING)
c) HALF VSYNC (synch to 30FPS instead of 60FPS. *Note that Far Cry 3 with VSYNC ON will synch to 60FPS if possible but 30FPS if not. You'd likely be on LOW/Medium at 30FPS).
SUMMARY:
- Yes, get 2GB.
- Future Proofed? (Not exactly)
- Far Cry 3? (you may be disappointed)
- *Many OTHER games will run at Full Quality or near it on your rig.
- tweaking methods (VSYNC, Fraps, Frame Rate)
- RadeonPro